Proverbs
1:20-21
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She
crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates:
in the city she uttereth her words...

"We
simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the
marketplace as well as the steeple of the church. We are
recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between
two candles, but on a cross between two thieves; on the town garbage
heap; at a crossroad so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in
Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek...at the kind of place where cynics talk
smut and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where
He died. And that is what He died about. And that is where
churchmen ought to be, and what churchmen should be about."

In the Bible times
life was much simpler than it is today. Communication of ideas and
information was found in a limited scope. In today's world things are
much different. From the written page to communication in even space,
the transfer of information is radically different.

Why then should you consider or emphasize the
description of PREACHING found within SCRIPTURE?
Should there be STREET or PUBLIC PREACHING
today? The most obvious answer, as we will fully document, is God's
instruction within SCRIPTURE. In this paper we will show
the weakness found in contemporary approaches vs. the strength and power
found in GOD'S way.

The common understanding of the word "PREACH"
is relegated to a select few: Pastors, Evangelist, etc. Additionally,
the idea of PREACHING has been re-defined as witnessing,
which for all practical purposes has eliminated the practice as found in
Scripture. These two points quench those who read and would follow the
men in the Bible, leaving no example to follow. The high tech world of
books, radio, and TV has become the main venue for getting the Word out.
While looking like the most obvious way, their substitution for GOD'S
way has left most of the world unreached.

"Neo-Christianity, which seems for the time to be the most popular (and
is certainly the most aggressive), is very careful not to oppose
sin. It wins its crowds by amusing them and its converts by hiding
from them the full implications of the Christian message."

A.W. Tozer

All of these approaches share a common ingredient:
they only communicate to those who want to hear or those who are already
believers. Ninety-nine percent of the audience is hearing information
they already possess. Literature is useful, but only to those who take
the time to read it. Witnessing is good, and should be the mainstay in a
believer's life, but again it is very hard to reach more than a few.
While GOD uses the above described to reap some of those
who are ready, the rest of the world goes without. In addition, the
methods of today are very expensive, and a poor use of GOD's money
and the church's time.

Public preaching is the most effective way to get the
Gospel to the most people in the shortest time at the least expense.

AND PUBLIC PREACHING IS THE NUMBER ONE METHOD
OF OUTREACH USED THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW
TESTAMENT... What then is PREACHING? According to
Noah Webster, "Preach" comes from a Latin word meaning to
"proclaim publicly...a sermon urging acceptance or abandonment of
an idea or course of action, specifically in an earnestly tiresome and
officious manner." "Officious" it seems is the key word
in much of what is BIBLICAL preaching. The Prophets
through CHRIST and the New Testament church told it like
it was and paid the price for their boldness and "officious"
manner; as it is defined: "volunteering one's services where they
are not asked for or wanted; meddlesome and high-handed." We posses
the truth and as such it requires such an approach.

As we have outlined, PREACHING today is
narrowly defined and misunderstood to the exclusion of the above
definition, and typically refers to invited people, invited speakers,
and scheduled services. BIBLICAL PREACHING, however,
conforms to the above definition, and is often to hostile crowds outside
"religious" services, to those who would seek to even kill the
messenger.

With these things in mind, let
us now explore the subject within SCRIPTURE.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Old Testament is rich with accounts of public
preaching.

Proverbs 1:20-21 Wisdom crieth without;
she uttereth her voice in the streets: [21] She crieth in the chief
place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she
uttereth her words...

"CRIETH" means shouting out
loud.

"WITHOUT" means outside.

"CHIEF PLACE OF
CONCOURSE" means where the biggest crowds are.

Proverbs 8:1-3
Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? [2] She
standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the
paths. [3] She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the
coming in at the doors.

Old Testament prophets often PREACHED at
the Gates of the city. The gates were the busiest place in town. The
cities in BIBLE times were surrounded by walls for
protection, and all traffic in and out of the city went through the
gate. It was the place to be to get a message to all visitors (Gen
19:1), as well as the citizens (going in and out to work in the fields),
and the king and all dignitaries. All kinds of activity took place at
the gates:

* Business Transactions: (Gen 23:10; 2 Kings 7:1)

* Community Meetings/"City Hall": (Gen
34:20;

2 Sam 19:8; Proverbs 31:23; Lam 5:14)

* Legal Decisions/Court: (Deut 22:15; 25:7;

Ruth 4:1; 2 Sam 15:2; Amos 5:15; Zech 8:16)

* Public Executions: (Deut 22:24)

* Public Mourning: (2 Sam 18:33)

* Daily Chores: (2 Sam 23:15; 1 Kings 17:10)

* Religious Meetings/Idolatry: (1 Kings 22:10;

2 Kings 23:8; 2 Chron 18:9; Acts 14:13)

* Beggars: (Ps 69:12; Prov 22:22; Amos 5:12)

* Wartime Negotiations: (Isa 22:7; Jer 1:15)

These then are some of the things that took place at
the gates. A man PREACHING at the gate would not only
reach large crowds, but also have an impact on and a outreach to such
varied arenas as: the business community, court decisions, idolatrous
meetings, soldiers, government, etc.

Amos 5:10 They hate him that rebuketh in
the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

Amos was a STREET PREACHER!!!

Isaiah 29:21 That make a man an
offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate,
and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

Isaiah was a STREET PREACHER!!!

Jeremiah 17:19 Thus said the LORD
unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby
the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the
gates of Jerusalem;

Jeremiah 7:1-2 The word that came to
Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, [2] Stand in the gate of the LORD'S
house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD,
all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

Jeremiah was a STREET PREACHER!!!

An interesting point about these men is that most of
them spent most of their time not reaching those in other countries, or
the most reprobate sinners, but God's "chosen people," who had
the Bible, as they entered the house of God to worship the Lord!

Jeremiah 22:1-2 Thus saith the LORD;
Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
[2] And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest
upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that
enter in by these gates:

Jeremiah 36:10 Then read Baruch in the book the
words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah
the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the
new gate of the LORD'S house, in the ears of all the people.

The PROPHETS of GOD in
the Old Testament did not use "low-key," "subtle"
(see Gen 3:1) approaches, such as literature tables, passing out tracts,
invitations to religious meetings, traveling Gospel singing teams, etc.
These things have some limited value, but again, what is the main method
of outreach in the Bible? What is the most effective way to reach the most
people at the least expense (and accurately reflect the real
character of God)? What is the one approach that gets the least amount
of teaching, promotion, and encouragement?

STREET PREACHING!!!

Jeremiah 11:6 Then the LORD said
unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the
streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do
them.

Jeremiah 2:1-2 Moreover the word of the
LORD came to me, saying, [2] Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem,
saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth,
the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the
wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

Isaiah 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up
thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and
the house of Jacob their sins.

In Judges 9:7 when Jotham had a message to get to a
crowd of people in Shechem (who wanted to kill him), how did he do it?
Not with literature, or invitations to religious services, or any other
"subtle" methods.

Judges 9:7 And when they told it to Jotham,
he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice,
and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto, ye men of Shechem, that God
may hearken unto you.

Jotham found a safe place from which they could all
hear him, and LIFTED UP HIS VOICE. Jotham was an open air
preacher (ca. 1300 BC.).

The best example in the Old Testament of a foreign
missionary is JONAH. God sent him to warn Nineveh. Did he
rent a hall and invite people to come to a scheduled meeting, enticing
them with "special music" and Gospel entertainment? No, Jonah
was charged to preach to Nineveh (as we are to the world!), not only to
those who would attend his meetings, but to the whole city.

The Bible says Nineveh was "an exceeding great
city of three days journey" (Jonah 3:3); i.e., it took 3 days just
to walk around it. Diodorus confirms that Nineveh was 60 miles in
circumference (Herodotus records that a day's journey was 20 miles).
Jonah 3:4 says "Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey,
and he CRIED, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall
be overthrown." Jonah went "a day's journey" into
Nineveh, a city of 3 day's journey, and CRIED! He was PREACHING
as he was walking, i.e., OUTDOORS! Jonah was a STREET
PREACHER, walking the streets as he preached his message of
judgment and truth.

Before moving to the New Testament perhaps it would
be good to say that a lot of what you may have seen in your life passing
for street or public preaching leaves a lot to be desired. This is
lamentable, but in some ways understandable, and even has its excuse in
brothers and even sisters who are at least trying. Much is needed in
understanding this subject, and as such this paper will serve as a
beginning.

WHAT ABOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT?

With the subject firmly established within the
largely Hebrew mission in the Old Testament, and its mostly limited
focus in the Middle East, we now turn our attention to the New
Testament. Beginning with John and moving to our commission to the whole
world: we are instructed in the N.T.,

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Our job is toPREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY
CREATURE IN THE WORLD!Simple logic will show the best way to
accomplish this is to find where the most "creatures" are in
one place at one time and proclaim the message loud enough for them all
to hear.

Col. 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every
man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man
perfect in Christ Jesus:

The first preacher in the New Testament was John the
Baptist. Once again, his preaching was lacking comfortable buildings,
music, entertainment, etc.

John the Baptist was an OPEN AIR PREACHER!!!

Matthew 3:1-2 In those days came John the
Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, [2] And saying, Repent
ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew says Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the
region round about Jordan came out to hear John preaching (Matthew
3:5-6). John was baptizing in the river Jordan. Jews who traveled back
and forth to Galilee refused to take the direct rout through Samaria
(John 4:9), but rather went to the Jordan River and followed it up to
and from Galilee, so John picked out a place to preach repentance and
baptize at a place of heavy traffic, with large crowds.

There is not much "one-on-one witnessing"
talked about in the Bible; the emphasis is on "Preaching To
Crowds." We are not saying to stop witnessing one-on-one. We do it;
we encourage it; there is plenty of training and promotion of
witnessing, in churches, BIBLE colleges, seminaries,
workshops, books in the Christian bookstores, and all put heavy emphasis
on this approach. Again, our interest as we see GOD's interest
is given to this MAIN method of outreach in the
scriptures: open air preaching.

The personal witnessing experiences of JESUS
CHRIST get a lot of attention, as well they should, but in the
four Gospels, covering 2-3 years of CHRIST's ministry, we
find three cases of personal witnessing: Nicodemus, the woman at the
well, and Zaccheus. The Gospels spend much more time pointing out CHRIST's
dealings with "MULTITUDES:" Matt 4:25;
5:1; 8:1, 18; 12:15; 13:2, 34; 14:14; 15:10, 30-35, 39; 17:14; 19:2l
21:8, 11....

Also notable is that Jesus' one-on-one situations
usually came out of these "multitude" situations. JESUS was
with a large crowd when He looked up and saw Zaccheus, and invited him
to come down (Luke 19:1-5). And He was in Jerusalem, crowded with Jews
from all over the world for the Passover, where He drove the
moneychangers out of the temple and preached, "Make not my Father's
house an house of merchandise," and after causing that little stir,
Nicodemus came to Him by night (John 2:13-3:1). En route back to His
home in Galilee after that incident He stopped and exposed the secret
sins of the woman at the well (John 4).

Jesus' most famous sermons were delivered OUTDOORS.
For example, the sermon ON THE MOUNT (Matt 5, 6, 7). In
Luke 6:17 he preached to a "great multitude" in "the
plain" (outdoors). The "Olivet Discourse" (Matt 24) was
delivered on the Mount of Olives (outdoors).

In Matthew 13 His well known parables were preached
to "great multitudes" by "the sea side" (outdoors).
He sat in a boat and taught the multitude on the shore.

The four Gospels are often described as John and the
"three synoptic Gospels," meaning Matthew, Mark and Luke are
similar to each other, yet not much information in John is found in the
"synoptics." The reason is simple: Matthew, Mark and Luke
devote most of their attention to Jesus' ministry in Galilee, where He
lived most of the time. But several times a year, all the Jews in the
world would go to Jerusalem for the feasts (see Exodus 23:14, 17).
Christ would go to Jerusalem and PREACH to these large
crowds gathered there. Everything in John is concerned with these trips
of Jesus to Jerusalem during these feasts. The Passover is mentioned in
John 2:13; 6:4; 12:1. The feast of Tabernacles is mentioned in John 7:2.
Another feast is mentioned in John 5:1. Hanukkah is mentioned in John
10:22. Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem to cleanse the Temple (at least
twice, John 2; + Matt 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19), and PREACH TO THE
MULTITUDES.

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day
of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him
come unto me, and drink.

Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in darkness,
that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon
the housetops.

His apostles carried this out in the book of Acts!

On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), we find one of the
greatest examples of STREET PREACHING of all time. The
charismatics read Acts 2, see tongues, and say: We need to speak in
tongues like they did in Acts 2. Some fundamentalists read Acts 2 and
see 3000 added to the church in one day, and they say: We need to have
large church growth like they did in Acts 2. What is missing is the
recognition of the delivery and method of STREETPREACHING
found in Acts 2. Tongues drew a crowd, Peter preached REPENTANCE
(Acts 2:38), and the church grew.

It is notable that preaching repentance involves the
whole counsel of GOD. In addition to the Gospel, Christ
preached "the Kingdom of God." This involves the whole of
God's character and all instruction on all subjects found in scripture.

Acts 17:16-17 Now while Paul waited for
them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city
wholly given to idolatry. [17] Therefore disputed he in the synagogue
with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with
them that met with him.

Why the market? Crowds! The apostles wanted to get
the Gospel to the most people at one time, so they went to the markets
where crowds gathered, and disputed, preaching the kingdom and wisdom of
God in the open air!

In summation then, hopefully you have eyes to see the
obvious:

[1] Modern Methods are:

* Expensive.

* Limited to reaching a few of the many who we are
commanded to reach.

* Inefficient.

* Time and labor intensive.

* Bureaucratic.

* Deceiving, in that they have a great show of power,
and when in fact they are weak.

[2] BIBLICAL Methods are:

* Inexpensive.

* Unbureaucratic.

* Strong and in line with the power and content of
the message (Heaven and Hell!).

* Able to provide place for the defense and
explanation of all Biblical matters (see Paul at Mars' Hill Acts 17).

* Able to provide for rebuke, exhortation and warning
to all people and situations as required, (Ezk 3:15-21..Watchman!).

* Time and labor efficient.

* Wise with the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:21).

In conclusion, we can focus on how things could be.
Public open air street preaching of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God is
imperative for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. This is an
attainable goal within each of your groups, fellowships, and churches.
It is not unreasonable to think that of every 50 or so believers ONE
could do this work. The help of God is available, and when you add them
up a city of say the size of Los Angeles would net at least 500 to 600
men to shoulder the plow in this untouched field. The impact of such a
group would be immediate and powerful: from the simple Gospel to the
public rebuke of evil, God's mind and being would be shown to all.

There are many practical details to such an
undertaking and ministry which, as has been stated, will follow in
future articles. Sufficient to this initial paper is the firm
establishment of this "lost doctrine" and, which has been
shown, has its place in both truth and much need. Remember,

2 Cor. 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth
sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully.

"If there is no struggle, there
is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet avoid
confrontation are people who want crops without plowing up the ground
. . . They want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the
ocean without the roar of its waters."